boehner. norquist is more powerful than boehner. it feels as if the air went out of the compromise zeppelin. hey, like the graph zeppelin, like, lakehurst. retail, now we're hearing that there wasn't as much follow-through to the initial sales from thursday night. i think it's nonsense, but macy's and costco, vf, coach and ralph lauren were tagged with huge losses today. i believe the holiday sales are flat-out strong. amazing numbers from apple, like a rocket since it hit the 505 level last week. terrific ipad mini sales. wasn't that a product the doom and gloomers had written off as still born a few weeks ago like the iphone 4, by the way? i believe the chinese momentum is lasting. europe, total black box. one that's being minimized in its importance for american companies. the fiscal cliff, i saw a step backward in the hardening of positions. those who think rising above is a political judgment, when it is a judgment about the need to rid washington of politics. that even a fool knows it's